Villas south west France, Aquitaine villas, Dordogne

The majestic River Dordogne lends its name to this French department. Rising in the Massif Central to the east, its waters have swollen by middle age, enabling it to cut through the landscape, looping and twisting past rocky outcrops where bastide villages cluster for defence.
Clinging to their cliffs, Domme, la Roque Gageac, Beynac-et-Cazenac and Castelnaud-la-Chapelle occupy idyllic settings.
Down river, the pretty market town of Bergerac is famous for its tobacco and sweet white wine. The jewel in the crown is Sarlat, which lies at the heart of the Dordogne valley although not on the river itself. This well-preserved town, with its golden stone buildings, twisting lanes and great food market owes its prosperity down the years dates from its loyalty to the French Crown during the Hundred Years War.